Tales of RockClan: Uprising
by Cinnamon for Ella
Summary: Join in the adventures of Tigerpaw; a young RockClan apprentice, as she deals with the death and mystery surrounding her origins. Growing from a bullied kit with only the friendship of Snowykit, to a brave young warrior faced with a secret she can not share. This is her story. Slight AU. Takes place in the old forest. OC in an OC Clan
1. Allegiances

**'Sup guys? This is my warriors story. I know a lot of people make up Clans, so that's what I'm doing. :)**

**Dedicated to the real Stormblaze and Blacktail, two graceful kittypet warriors destined for StarClan.**

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ROCKCLAN

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LEADER Whitestar - Big white and silver tabby tom with blue eyes, 5 lives left

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DEPUTY Finchflight - Long furred dark ginger tom with yellow paws and green eyes

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MEDICINE CAT Goldpelt - Golden-Orange she-cat with a white underbelly and amber eyes

APPRENTICE, Adderpaw

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WARRIORS (Toms, and She-Cats without kits)

Greyfeather - Silver-blue tabby she- cat with green eyes

Claystorm - Dappled, dusky brown and grey tom with red eyes

APPRENTICE, Sootpaw

Foxleaf - Very pretty dark red she-cat with one black 'sock' and amber eyes

APPRENTICE, Tinypaw

Mapplepelt - Tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes

Dapplestep - Dark brown torbie tom with a white patch over one eye, blue eyes

APPRENTICE, Thistlepaw

Softflight - Long furred creamy white she-cat with light blue eyes

Jetfur - Pitch black tom with light green eyes

Mousespring - Small brown and white tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Hollyfur - Long furred dark brown she-cat with pale green eyes

Darkheart - Black and white she-cat with yellow eyes

APPRENTICE, Nightpaw

Mintstripe - Dark grey tabby tom with blue eyes

APPRENTICE, Russetpaw

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APPRENTICES (More then 6 moons old, in training to become warriors)

Thistlepaw - An older apprentice, Molted white tom with amber eyes

Sootpaw - Sooty black she-cat with blue eyes

Adderpaw - Yellow tabby she-cat with green eyes

Nightpaw - Black she-cat with blue eyes

Tinypaw - Tiny flame-point she-cat with amber eyes

Russetpaw - Ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes

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QUEENS (She-Cats expecting or nursing kits)

Cloudclaw - Long furred white she-cat with orange eyes (mother to Snowykit, Meadowkit, and Pebblekit)

Heathertail - White and ginger tabby she-cat, one green eye, one blue eye (mother to Cherrykit and Largekit)

Ravenheart - Grey and black calico she-cat with a short tail and green eyes (mother to Willowkit, Rustkit, and Tigerkit)

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KITS

Snowykit - Long furred white tom with orange eyes

Meadowkit - Light grey (with darker flecks) she-cat with light blue eyes

Pebblekit - Dark grey tabby she-cat with one white paw and dark blue eyes

Cherrykit - Pretty ginger and white tabby she-cat with green eyes

Largekit - Large black and white patched tom with green eyes

Willowkit - Grey and black calico she-cat with blue eyes

Rustkit - Dark ginger and white tabby tom with green eyes

Tigerkit - White she-cat with ginger tabby splotches and amber eyes

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ELDERS (Former warriors and queens, now retired)

Stormblaze - Dark grey and white she-cat with yellow eyes

Blacktail - Black and white patched she-cat with green eyes

Rainfur - Scraggly black and grey tom with amber eyes, oldest cat in the clan

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DarkClan

LEADER Hawkstar - Scarred brown and black she-cat with blue eyes

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DEPUTY Jaysong - Grey-blue tom with green eyes

APPRENTICE, Blackpaw

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MEDICINE CAT Stonefoot - Silver-blue tabby tom with a solid grey back leg and blue eyes

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WARRIORS

Lilypelt - White she-cat with yellow eyes

Lizardfall - Brown tom with amber eyes

APPRENTICE, Redpaw

Owlflight - Silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Shadowblaze - Black and ginger patched tom with amber eyes

Adderwhisker - Elderly brown tabby tom

APPRENTICE, Spottedpaw

Cherryblaze - Ginger tabby she-cat

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APPRENTICES

Blackpaw - Black tom with amber eyes

Redpaw - Ginger tom with blue eyes

Spottedpaw - Brown and black calico she-cat with one blue eye, one amber eye

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QUEENS

Tigerfur - Sly brown tabby she-cat with green eyes (mother to Icekit and Brownkit)

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KITS

Icekit - White she-cat with amber eyes

Brownkit - Brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

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ELDERS

Sunfur - Yellow tabby she-cat with green eyes

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PondClan

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LEADER Featherstar - Silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

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DEPUTY Yellowstripe - Yellow tabby she-cat with blue eyes

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MEDICINE CAT Barktooth - Scraggly brown tom with amber eyes

APPRENTICE, Tornpaw

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WARRIORS

Dryfoot - Ginger tabby tom that hates to get wet

Bluefang - Grey-blue tom with yellow eyes

Sootwhisker - Black she-cat with green eyes

APPRENTICE, Stumpypaw

Mothfur - Dappled tawny she-cat with amber eyes

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APPRENTICES

Tornpaw - Tawny tom with a ripped ear

Stumpypaw - Ginger she-cat with a limp

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QUEENS

Cherrypelt - Ginger she-cat with green eyes

Snowpelt - White she-cat with yellow eyes (mother to Frostkit and Dawnkit)

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KITS

Frostkit - White tom with yellow eyes

Dawnkit - Grey and white patched she-cat with yellow eyes

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ELDERS

Mosspelt - Grey tabby tom with blue eyes

Flametalon - Ginger tom with green eyes

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TreeClan

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LEADER Leafstar - Brown and white tabby tom

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DEPUTY Cloudfur - Long furred white she-cat with green eyes

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MEDICINE CAT Mistfur - Grey she-cat with blue eyes

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WARRIORS

Rabbitfang - Dusky brown she-cat

APPRENTICE, Bramblepaw

Morningpelt - Grey tom with green eyes

Dappledfang - Calico she-cat with green eyes

Thornwhisker - Golden tabby tom

APPRENTICE, Spottedpaw

Gorsefang - Ginger and white she-cat

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APPRENTICES

Bramblepaw - Golden tabby she-cat with green eyes

Spottedpaw - Tortoiseshell she-cat with a black tail tip

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QUEENS

Largeclaw - Brown tabby she-cat

Cinderfoot - Grey she-cat with green eyes (mother to Adderkit)

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KITS

Adderkit - Brown and white patched she-cat with blue eyes

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CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS

Star - Pretty calico she-cat, a kittypet

Garfield - Dark ginger tabby tom with a white tipped tail and amber eyes, a loner

Ash - Dark grey tom with black flecks and red eyes, a loner

Salazar - Scraggly yellow and white tom with green eyes, a rouge

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**will post first chapter soon**


	2. Prolouge

**This story will mostly be from Tigerpaw's POV, but I will say if it changes.**

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_Prologue (Third-Person POV)_

A lone she-cat sat in the moonlight. She was staring at the stars, as if she was waiting for something. Hearing something behind her she smiled. "It's a bit late to be out on patrol Finchflight, do you need something?" Turning her head, she saw not the Clan deputy looking at her, but Whitestar.

Whitestar raised a curious brow. "Why did you assume I was Finchflight?" She shrugged, looking away from him. they were silent for a while, until he spoke up. "I'm worried about Heathertail." He admitted "The kits have been putting a lot of strain on her, and I'm afraid her kitting will be-"

"Be like Cloudclaw's?" She interrupted, not looking at him. Cloudclaw had kitted less then a moon ago. She had lost a kit, and the other three were very sickly and weak. He nodded, walking over and sitting next to her.

"Have you heard anything from StarClan lately?" He wondered aloud, glancing over at her. She didn't show any signs of having heard him. "Goldpelt? Are you alright?" Still no response. but suddenly Goldpelt leapt nearly a tail-length into the air, causing him to flinch.

Looking over at him, she flattened her ears slightly. "Sorry about that, something shocked me." He shrugged it off, but looked at her expectantly. she looked confused for a moment, until she figured out what he meant. "I was just looking at the stars, and I saw a flash of white and orange, and a pair of orange eyes." She looked at the moon again. " and I heard a voice too. It said- '_A sly enemy shall rise from the ashes of blood, a terrible secret shall shake the Clan to its core, and only the snow and tiger together can stop it._' Then I felt a shock, like lightning."

Whitestar looked at her grimly. "A prophecy from StarClan." Goldpelt nodded. "Any chance you could decipher it?" he asked hopefully, wondering if this had anything to do with his daughter's kits._  
_

Goldpelt thought for a few minutes before answering. "As far as I can tell, there will be a threat to the clan. Maybe someone connected to blood and ash?" She paused for a moment. "And as for snow and tiger... Maybe snow is Snowykit? I'm at a loss for who, or what tiger is, though. I don't know what the bit about a secret is either."

Whitestar thought about this new information. It was strange, knowing the possibility of the Clan resting on the shoulders of a cat who right now was a mewling kit. _Tiger_... There wasn't anyone he knew of with that name. Besides the stories of Tigerstar the Terrible he was told as a kit, that is. Could it be a loner? A rouge? He didn't know. As he walked away back towards the camp, he thought of what this new prophecy could mean for the forest.

* * *

It had been a half moon since Whitestar and Goldpelt discussed the prophecy, and a yowl of pain sounded from the nursery. A queen was kitting, but it was different from the others. There was no excitement among the Clan at the thought of new kits. No anxious tom pacing in front of the nursery. No medicine cat attending the poor queen. The kits were huddled in a corner, protected by their mothers. Yowls came from outside the den as a bloody battle was fought. Only a young apprentice was actually wanting to help.

Three kits were born during the battle. After the batte was over, there was little congratulations from the warriors. In fact, no one besides the other queens noticed the new arrivals until several hours after.

Finchflight poked his head into the nursery to check on his mate, Heathertail. He walked in after meowing a greeting to the queens. Swiveling his head to look at Ravenheart, who had not responded. He saw her passed out, probably with exhaustion, three newborn kits curled up to her. What surprised him the most was that, as far as he knew, Ravenheart didn't have any cats with ginger tabby fur in her family.

But there they were, three kits. Onewas a she-kit that looked exactly like Ravenheart, the other two were a ginger tabby tom, and white she-kit with ginger tabby splotches. "That's peculiar" he thought aloud, sitting down next to Heathertail. She nodded, looking up at him.

"I was rather surprised when they were born. I used to think her mate was Claystorm, the amount of time they spent together." She laughed slightly. "She kept insisting that they were 'Just friends.' And now that I think about it..." She looked at him, unsure. "Finchflight, you're the only ginger tom in the Clan... Are... Are they _your_ kits?"

Finchflight was saved from having to answer her shocking question by Cherrykit mewling as Largekit batted at her face. Not understanding he wasn't supposed to keep his claws in, Largekit scratched her on the muzzle. Finchflight fled the nursery quickly after that, nearly bumping into Whitestar and Goldpelt. "Hello Whitestar, Goldpelt. If anyone asks, they're not my kits." He dashed off, leaving behind a very confused leader and medicine cat.

Deciding to see what he meant, they entered the nursery. Ravenheart had been woken by Cherrykit's _very_ loud mewling, and was tending to her own kits. This surprised them, Whitestar understanding what his deputy had meant. Goldpelt walked over to the young queen. "Hello Ravenheart." She paused, eyeing the kits at her belly. "Are those your kits?"

Ravenheart looked up from grooming her youngest, the white and ginger she-kit. "Yes, why do you ask?" She meowed, irritated. not being in a very good mood with the medicine cat right now. The kit mewed and squirmed away from her litter-mates, free from her mother's tongue.

Goldpelt could understand why she was irritated, but didn't was to press on the subject. "Oh, no reason." She glanced over to Whitestar, who was talking to Heathertail. Looking back at the kits, she smiled. "What are their names?" She asked curiously.

Ravenheart thought for a moment. Then she touched each kit with her nose and said their name in turn. "Willowkit for the grey calico, Rustkit for the ginger, and Tigerkit for the ginger and white." Goldpelt nodded. Then, deciding to leave her to her rest, walked out of the nursery to find where Adderpaw had run off to. Whitestar looked up at Goldpelt as she walked past. He had heard the name of Ravenheart's youngest kit. When their eyes met, they knew they were thinking the same thing; _Tigerkit... Is she the one in the prophecy?_


	3. Kithood

**Hey guys! Thank you to everyone who read this story!**

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_Chapter 1: Kithood (Tigerkit's POV)_

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_1/4 Moon_

"Ravenheart? When will Tigerkit open her eyes?"

"I don't know Snowykit, but she'll open them when she's ready."

I squinted my eyelids in frustration as who I assumed to be Rustkit pounced on me, squealing for me to open my eyes. It certainly sounded like Rustkit. I couldn't wait to open my eyes so I could see my mother. I think she's Ravenheart, but she could be Cloudclaw. Both of them are kind enough to be my mother. Not Heathertail though. She doesn't like me, but I don't really mind it that much.

I'm also pretty sure my littermates are Willowkit and Rustkit. I wasn't sure mind you, they don't like me much either. Something prodded me and I raised my head. From his scent I could tell it was Snowykit. He and Cherrykit were the only kits that liked me. I wanted to see what he looked like too. His fur was very soft, and he was patient with me since I was littler and couldn't open my eyes yet.

"Mama! Make Tigerkit open her eyes now!"

"I can't do that Rustkit, You have to be patient. Only Tigerkit can choose when she opens her eyes."

Yep. There's Rustkit going off about it again. I'd open my eyes if I could, everything sounds so exciting from the stories Mintstripe tells us. He's Snowykit, Meadowkit, and Pebblekit's father. I like him. Finchflight is nice too, but he hardly ever visits.

Wait, I think I can... Yes! My eyes can open now! Blinking slightly as they opened, the light nearly blinded me already! I quickly shut them and moved my head away from the light. I opened them again, and was face-to-face with a fluffy white kit with orange eyes. Was this Snowykit?

The kit grinned at me, and I just blinked at him. Looking at his eyes made me wonder, what color are my eyes? I looked around at the other kits in the small-ish den. There were quite a lot of kits with blue eyes and green eyes. Looking up, I saw a pair of shining green eyes. _Are my eyes green too?_ I wondered, not knowing I had said it out loud. The tiny voice made me jump, and I looked around to see who had said it.

"No silly, you have amber eyes!" I felt something brush against my head and looked at it. It was that white kit again, but this time he had a pretty ginger and white kit with him. Was the ginger kit Cherrykit? They were smiling at me. It was strange, them smiling at me, why were they doing that?

"Hi Tigerkit, I'm Snowykit, and this is Cherrykit." The white kit, Snowykit said to me. I just looked at them for a few minutes before looking at everyone else. There were a lot of cats in the den, It made me wonder how everyone could fit.

"Why is she just staring?" I heard a grey kit ask its mother. The white she-cat purred softly and licked her kit on the head.

"She just opened her eyes. You did that too."

That must be Cloudclaw then. I looked up at my mother again. Green eyes, grey calico pelt. Ravenheart's my mother from a guess. Suddenly a dark ginger and white kit jumped on me and I mewed in surprise. The kit stood on my head and looked up at Ravenheart, putting his front paws on her.

"Okay, she opened her eyes. Can we go outside now? Pleeeeeese?" I mewed in pain as he continued to stand on me. _So this is Rustkit... I expected as much. _I thought to myself.

Ravenheart nudged him off of me, licking me on the head to make sure I was alright. "Alright, but you need to behave Rustkit. No wandering off." Rustkit smiled and bounded off to the exit of the den. I shook my head and looked at Ravenheart as she stood up and stretched. A kit that looked like my mother, but with blue eyes, bounded up to her from where she had been playing.

Cherrykit nudged me again and walked towards the exit with the others. "C'mon Tigerkit, you won't believe how big it is outside of the nursery!" Snowykit said as he sat beside me. I looked at my white paws and then at him.

He purred with laughter and nudged my head again. "It's not hard, just stand up." I lifted one paw and tried to support my weight on it. surprisingly i didn't fall, so i tried it with the other three. As I took my first tentative steps, Snowykit stood up and walked beside me.

* * *

_2 Moons_

"Come on Tigerkit! Race you to the stream!"

"You're on!"

I let out a _mroww_ of laughter as Snowykit and I raced each other to the stream that ran through camp. On the way there, we nearly ran into Thistlepaw and Sootpaw. The apprentices looked at the two of us oddly before Thistlepaw rolled his eyes and kept walking with Sootpaw.

I thought it was strange that Sootpaw was walking with her tail touching Thistlepaw's... Didn't she know toms had cooties? I decided not to question her actions. Falling into the stream because I wasn't looking probably helped a bit.

As I climbed out of the water, I looked over to the four moon old kit. He was trying his best not to laugh, and I couldn't blame him. I probably did look pretty silly.

I bent down, ready to pounce on him, when Whitestar's voice sounded from the Highrock. "Let all the cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting." Straightening up, I looked at him rather confused. Together we walked back to the center of camp.

Whitestar was sitting on the Highrock as we drew closer. Hiding among the crowd, we watched as Thistlepaw and Dapplestep sat in front of the Highrock. Both looking especially well groomed, and Thistlepaw had a proud smile on his face.

I gasped quietly, looking at Snowykit then back at Thistlepaw. "His warrior ceremony!" I whispered excitedly. We looked up at Whitestar as he began to speak.

"I, Whitestar, leader of RockClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." He looked at the apprentice, who looked like he would explode with pride. "Thistlepaw," Whitestar continued. "do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your own life?"

Thistlepaw glanced over at Sootpaw for a second before looking back at Whitestar, I looked at her too. She was smiling proudly at him. "I do." Thistlepaw's answer rang out loud and clear.

Whitestar continued to speak, though my gaze was still on Sootpaw. "Then by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior name: Thistlepaw-" I looked back over at them. "-from this moment you will be known as Thistlespots. StarClan honors your loyalty and your determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RockClan.

I grinned as Whitestar rested his muzzle on Thistlespots's head. As the Clan cried out his new name, I couldn't help but notice Sootpaw was the loudest, even if she was trying not to stand out.

Someone nudged my shoulder and I looked over at them. It was Snowykit. "Come on, we should head back to the nursery before Ravenheart and Cloudclaw get too upset." I grinned and started to run back to the nursery.

Making sure Snowykit was behind me, I walked in. Almost immediately Rustkit and Largekit walked over and shoved me into the nursury wall on their way out. "Useless runt" Rustkit hissed in my ear as he passed me. I didn't mind, I was used to it. But what came next was worse.

As I walked towards Ravenheart's nest, I was surprised to see she was gone. _Probably out congratulating Thistlespots._ I reminded myself. Remember how I mentioned a 'worse'? Yeah, here it is.

"Hey there Tinykit- Oh! Sorry, _Tigerkit_" Cruel laughter reached my ears and I turned to see Willowkit, Meadowkit, and to my shock, _Cherrykit_ laughing at me. My ears flattened and I looked away.

_Why do they pick on me? _I wondered, looking over to Cloudclaw's nest._ Pebblekit's a runt too, and they leave her alone._ The blue eyes of Pebblekit met my amber ones as Snowykit went over to comfort her.

"Didn't ya get the memo? Stripes are _so_ cliche, and then you ruin them with a bunch of ugly splotches? No wonder your father abandoned you!" Cherrykit's voice brought me out of my thoughts. I looked at her, wondering if Heathertail put her up to this.

Meadowkit laughed a little. "Yeah! he's probably a stinky kittypet!" Ouch... I looked at Willowkit, there was no way she could stand for this! In fact, she looked about ready to cry as Meadowkit and Cherrykit chanted "Kittypet! Kittypet!"

"What're you youngsters talkn' about? Being part kittypet's nothing to be ashamed of." The voice of Stormblaze came from outside the nursery as I looked up. Cherrykit and Meadowkit stopped and looked at the elder.

I looked at Willowkit, but she'd fled the nursery. I walked outside to where Stormblaze was sitting. I knew Cherrykit had followed me, and I didn't object. "Were you a kittypet Stormblaze?" I looked up at the elder.

Stormblaze looked a bit fierce, but was really a big softy with kits. At least as far as i knew. "'Course I was! How do you think this Clan was built?" She cleared her throat and looked down at us. "That's besides the point though."

"Then what is?" Cherrykit mewed from behind me. Stormblaze looked at her and snorted softly.

"Never be ashamed of who you are, and don't let anyone tell you what to be."

* * *

_4 moons_

"Let all the cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting."

Whitestar's yowl carried across the camp as a well-groomed Snowykit and I raced to the Highrock. "I can't believe I'm going to become an apprentice!" He meowed joyfully. I was glad to see him so happy. Little Pebblekit had been carried off by a hawk just four sunrises ago, he'd refused to let me out of his sight after her death.

I nodded my agreement as Meadowkit and Cloudclaw padded up to us. Meadowkit still didn't like me, but I had a feeling that would change soon enough.

"Leaf-bare is almost upon us," Whitestar started, I looked up at him. "we'll need all the hunters we can muster to get us through the season. So what better to strengthen our numbers by making new apprentices, and a new warrior." Whitestar's eyes searched the crowd until they rested on Snowykit. "Snowykit, come forward."

Snowykit glanced over at me before walking over to the Highrock. "Greyfeather," Whitestar continued. "you are a very loyal and brave cat, and I believe you are ready for your first apprentice. Pass those traits on to Snowypaw." I looked over at the silvery-blue she-cat. _Snowypaw's got Greyfeather, she's so strict! _I thought as Greyfeather walked over to the Highrock and touched noses with Snowypaw._  
_

"Meadowkit, come forward." Whitestar beckoned with his tail for Meadowkit to go to the Highrock. I smiled reassuringly at her when she looked at me. "Mousespring" I looked up at Whitestar in confusion. "You are a skilled warrior, and I expect you to pass those skills to Meadowpaw." Meadowpaw looked at me with the same confusion I had.

"Snowypaw, Meadowpaw!" The rest of the Clan cried. I joined in, cheering for Snowypaw.

After the cheering quieted down, Whitestar cleared his throat. "Let us not forget we have a new warrior to make, Sootpaw, come forward." Sootpaw looked rather surprised and pleased as she walked over to the Highrock.

"I, Whitestar, leader of RockClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn." Whitestar leapt down and stood in front of Sootpaw. Greyfeather sat next to Snowypaw with a proud smile on her face.

"Sootpaw," Whitestar continued. "do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your own life?" Sootpaw nodded once. "I do." I looked over at Thistlespots. He looked very proud and pleased. _  
_

"Then by the power of StarClan," Whitestar continued, I looked over at them again. "I give you your warrior name: Sootpaw, from this moment you will be known as Sootpelt. StarClan honors your bravery and your quick thinking, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RockClan."

I grinned at Sootpelt, this must have been a huge deal for her. As Greyfeather and Jetfur walked over to greet Sootpelt by her new name, I noticed Thistlespots greeting her most warmly of all. He licked her on the muzzle, and I stuck out my tongue. "Gross, cooties!" I said softly.

A soft _mroww_ of laughter reached my ears and a new voice appeared. "One day you'll have a very different view on 'cooties', Tigerkit." I looked up and saw Ravenheart standing there.

"I don't think I will." I said firmly. Little did I know, I was very wrong.


	4. Apprenticeship Disaster

**Hey guys! thank you so much for the reviews! They really encourage me to get up and write instead of reading troll fics all day XD**

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_Chapter 2: Apprenticeship Disaster _(Tigerkit/paw's POV)

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_"Tigerblossom! Help me!" I panted as Rustkit's panicked cries got further and further away. I had to stop and get help! But somehow my paws kept going further and faster then a normal kit's would've. "Tigerblossom, help!" My eyes widened when I realized he wasn't calling me Tiger_kit, _but Tiger_blossom_._**  
**

_I kept running, all the while my mind was wrapped around the same question; _Tigerblossom, is that my warrior name?_ I stopped when I saw the horrible sight in front of me; Rustkit being devoured whole by a shadow that took on the form of a cat, while three tall, shadowy figures stood behind it, staring at me. A powerful stench-like crowfood reached my nose. The shadow that 'ate' Rustkit stood and looked at me before pouncing._

I gasped and jerked awake. Glancing around, I saw that I was still in the nursery. Panting a little bit, I settled back down and closed my eyes again.

I think I fell asleep, because when I woke up again, it was light out.

"Tigerkit, wake up! Come on mousebrain!" I heard Rustkit yowl in my ear. Blinking open my eyes, I saw him sitting in front of me. His ginger pelt smooth and glossy.

"What's going on?" I asked him, sitting up. A piece of moss stuck to my fur. Shaking it off, I looked around the nursery. We were the only ones in there awake.

"Come on! we're going to be late!" He shoved me ahead of him on his way out. Typical Rustkit. I sighed and followed him.

I looked around camp as I walked out of the nursery. Nothing odd going on... Then again, Rustkit had rudely awoken me at odd hours in the morning since we turned six moons old. This time I figured the dawn patrol had just returned, seeing as Snowypaw was drowsily eating a piece of freshkill in a shady patch of brambles. He normally went on dawn patrol.

"What are you doing just sitting there with your pelt in shambles?" I looked around and saw Tinypaw walking towards me. "Did Rustkit wake you up already" She asked me. I nodded. She smirked and smoothed the fur on my head.

"Ravenheart needs to talk to him and Willowkit, I don't like the way they treat you." I just shrugged. There wasn't anything I could do about it. She looked at me, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Are you excited for your ceremony today?" She asked.

"That's today?" I wondered aloud. She nodded with a grin. Dapplestep called for her to join his hunting patrol. She looked over at him and nodded.

"See you around kid." She said before dashing off to join her fathers hunting party. I watched them go with a small smile. _That'll be me someday._ I thought as I went to grab a bit of freshkill.

* * *

"Let all the cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Rustkit and Willowkit ran out of the nursery as Whitestar yowled from the Highrock. Rustkit had re-groomed his fur.

"Are you excited?" Ravenheart asked me, I just nodded. Truth be told I was nervous. What if I got a horrible mentor? What if I trip and make a fool of myself? _Calm down._ I told myself. _It's just my apprenticeship ceremony._

Cherrykit shoved past me on her way to the Highrock with Largekit and Heathertail. They were being apprenticed the same day as us since the five of us were so close in age. I pressed closer to Ravenheart as Heathertail passed. She shot me a hateful glare, and I knew why too.

Everyone thought we were Finchflight's kits, but Finchflight was Heathertail's mate, therefore she hated our guts... Well, my guts anyway. She left Willowkit and Rustkit alone for some reason, so I got the brunt of her mean words and cruel looks.

"Cats of RockClan!" Whitestar began. "The time has come to make new apprentices among our Clan." His eyes landed on Cherrykit, which wasn't hard since she was sitting in the very front. "Cherrykit, come forward."

Cherrykit walked forward, looking like she'd explode with self-pride. Heathertail had seemingly brainwashed her own daughter into being like her. "Hollyfur, you are a very wise and experienced cat. Pass on what you know to Cherrypaw."

"I will, Whitestar." A gravely voice sounded from the crowd of cats, and Hollyfur stepped out to greet her new apprentice. I held in a _mrrow_ of laughter as I saw Cherrypaw's horrified expression at the grizzled senior warrior Whitestar had chosen to mentor her.

Whitestar cleared his throat as the mentor and apprentice went to the side of the clearing and the ceremony continued. Largepaw was apprenticed to Mapplestep, another senior warrior. Willowpaw got Softflight, _No surprise there._ I thought as they touched noses. _  
_

To my surprise however, Finchflight was chosen to mentor Rustpaw. I glanced over at Heathertail to see her reaction. Another surprise, She was _smiling_... Scary. I shuddered and looked back to Whitestar, knowing what came next.

"Tigerkit, come forward." I took a deep breath and walked into the clearing at the base of the Highrock. Looking at the cats closest to me, I locked eyes with Snowypaw, who grinned reassuringly. I saw his mentor Greyfeather sitting next to her mate Jetfur. Oh how amazing it would be to have him as my mentor! He was very nice, and I would probably do joint training sessions with Snowypaw quite a lot.

"Foxleaf, with Tinypaw close to becoming a warrior, you have requested to train Tigerpaw." My heart stopped for a second. I turned my head to look at Foxleaf sitting next to Tinypaw. _No, not her! She's horrible!_ I wanted to yowl to the whole Clan, but I would get scolded by Whitestar and Ravenheart and would probably spend the next two moons checking the elders for ticks.

Tinypaw smiled at me, Foxleaf scowled, as if this was the last thing she wanted. "Foxleaf, you are a very brave and sharp-thinking warrior, and I expect you to pass this on to Tigerpaw." _More like conceited and sharp-opinionated. It's a wonder how Tinypaw is so nice with such a prideful mentor. _I thought as I touched noses with Foxleaf.

"C'mon then, let's get this tour over with." I heard her mutter as she walked away. Something tells me this wasn't her idea in the first place. I followed her, feeling Tinypaw join in walking beside me when I passed her.

"Hey, how have the first few minutes of being an apprentice gone?" She asked me as we headed to the gorse tunnel that served as the entrance/exit of camp. _Nerve-wracking, exciting, disappointing. Take your pick. _I thought to myself. In reality, I just shrugged.

She stayed quiet as we walked, probably feeling a bit awkward. But after we left camp, she brightened up considerably. Padding forward a few paces, she said something to Foxleaf, who stopped. I stopped too.

Foxleaf snapped something to her and walked away. Tinypaw smiled and walked back to me. "I asked Foxleaf if I could show you around instead of hunt for the elders, she agreed." She paused for a moment, as if remembering something. "I'll have to hunt for them on the way though, so she said I might as well show you how."

I nodded, liking this arrangement much more. "Let's go then" I said excitedly. My voice was a bit small though, I was nervous. Why you ask? I was a new apprentice, and here was an apprentice that was practically a warrior already, offering to show me how to hunt!

Tinypaw must have seen my nervousness and let out a small _mrrow_ of laughter, nudging me gently as she started walking again. "It's not hard. Come on, I want to get back before sun-down. You know how cross old Rainfur gets if his freshkill isn't on time." I nodded and followed her.

* * *

"And over here's Sunning Rocks. You can't really tell, but at sunhigh it gets really hot over here." Tinypaw's voice sounded from the rock she bounded on. I was waiting patiently at the base of the rock, since I couldn't jump up there... Yet.

"It's also our border with PondClan. You don't really want to run into any of their warriors yet, they'd tear a new apprentice like you to mouse dust." Well, there goes my desire to go to Sunning Rocks anymore. Just kidding! I walked a bit closer to the border to get a good wiff of PondClan scent for later on. Recoiling slightly at the fishy smell, I looked back at Tinypaw.

"Where to now?" I asked. She leapt down from the tall rock and walked back towards the forest. I followed her. So far we'd seen the Thunderpath, Sunning Rocks and Snake Rocks, and the river. We'd ran into Finchflight and Rustpaw too.

"How about Fourtrees? That's where we have the Gatherings." She said, I nodded. I'd heard about the Gatherings from Mintstripe. They sounded pretty exciting, I couldn't wait for my first gathering.

As we walked in the direction I assumed Fourtrees to be in, I picked up an unfamiliar scent. It didn't smell fishy, so it wasn't PondClan. And it wasn't anything like the pine tree-like scent of DarkClan. It smelled like the forest and crowfood.

Tinypaw stopped and wrinkled her nose. Looking around, I wondered what the awful stench was. Feeling the fur on the back of my neck bristling up, I turned around and saw three HUGE toms coming towards us. With a start I realized the scent was like the one in my dream.

Tinypaw turned around as well and hissed at the three cats, her fur puffing up to make her nearly as big as them. "What are you doing on RockClan territory again! Whitestar told you to leave." A bit confused, I looked from the toms to Tinypaw.

The oldest of the three cats, a yellow and white patched cat, looked at her with a glare. "We have come for the kits that rightfully belong to us. Hand them and the mother over, and we'll leave you in peace." His voice made me shudder. It was smooth and cruel at the same time.

Tinypaw glared at him, and I knew her answer was no. I didn't know what was going on, but it wasn't going to end well. The other cats knew that too, I suppose. Because the yellow and white cat gestured for a ginger cat that looked strangely like Rustpaw to come forward.

"This is the father of those kits, and he demands you hand them over immediately." The scraggly cat said with his eyes narrowed. The ginger cat's eyes widened and he looked at his companion with a look of outrage.

The grey cat in the background snarled and stared at me. "Enough of this Salazar, Garfield. If they won't hand them over, I say we take them by force!" He launched himself at me, and I shrank away. But the attack never came. Tinypaw launched herself at the bigger tom, saving me from death.

"Run, Tigerpaw, run!" She yowled as she clawed at his ears. Although I didn't want to abandon Tinypaw against the three toms alone, the gray cat had scared me deeply. I turned tail and ran back to camp, hoping I wouldn't get lost.

* * *

Running through the gorse tunnel, I stopped and panted. Fully aware of the strange looks and murmurs from passersby.

"What's Tigerpaw doing alone?"

"I dunno, where are Foxleaf and Tinypaw?"

"Tigerpaw?" I looked up. There was Dapplestep and Cloudclaw looking at me with concern. "Where are Foxleaf and Tinypaw?" Dapplestep asked. I looked at them for a moment before indicating to outside the camp with my tail.

"Foxleaf let Tinypaw show me around, I don't know where she is... But Tinypaw and I were ambushed by rouges on our way towards Fourtrees. They attacked us and she sent me back." Panic flashed in Dapplestep's eyes as he dashed out the tunnel, followed by Cloudclaw and Nightpaw, who had heard what happened.

I looked around camp. No one else seemed shocked or worried. I shrugged it off and headed towards the apprentices den. It was pretty quiet inside, Russetpaw was already asleep and Snowypaw was in his nest as well.

I walked over to him. He smiled at me and got up. "Hey Tigerpaw, I made you a nest." I nodded in thanks and looked at the smallish nest a little ways from his own.

"Thanks Snowypaw, But I need to-" I was caught off by a wail and sounds of panic from outside. Snowykit brushed past me on his way out.

I followed him, unsure of what to find. But whatever I had hoped to have happened was nothing compared to what I saw. I gasped in horror at the sight I saw as I stood at the entrance of the apprentices den. _Great StarClan no... This can't really be happening!_

Dangling from a grief-struck Dapplestep's jaws was the bloody, dead body of Tinypaw.


	5. Aftermath

**Hey guys! I know I should really be updating my other story, but it's somewhat easier for me to write Warriors fanfiction. Plus, I had an urge to write this next chapter. Thank you for all your wonderful reviews!**

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_Chapter 3: Aftermath (Tigerpaw's POV)_

* * *

I remained frozen in shock, staring at Tinypaw's body as she was laid down in the clearing. Her wounds were very bad. Even if there was a chance she was still alive, she wouldn't survive the night. _She gave her life to save me..._ I gritted my teeth in anger, I'd never felt true anger. _Those rouges are gonna pay for what they did!_

I felt someone brush against my shoulder and looked at Russetpaw as she walked to her sister's body. I could hear everyone murmuring comforting words to her and Dapplestep. I spotted Snowypaw already over there. I walked over to him and sat down. I heard Whitestar talking to Dapplestep and Nightpaw, they both had scratches... Deep scratches.

Whitestar looked at the crowd of cats around Tinypaw until his eyes met mine. He walked over to her side and sat down, speaking a ritual I had never heard before. "I ask my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has learned the warrior code and has given up her life in the service of her Clan. Let StarClan receive her as a warrior." He paused, narrowing his eyes. I wondered what he was thinking.

"She will be known as Brightflame, so every cat will remember her spirit and her selfless actions to save a new apprentice." His eyes met mine for a moment, and I looked away. I could feel everyone looking at me. I turned and snuck away from the crowd, wanting to go curl up in my new nest and sleep for a moon. Unfortunately, Foxleaf had a different idea.

"Where do you think you're going?" She hissed in my ear, stepping on my tail. I opened my mouth to reply, but she whipped her tail over my mouth. "I want you to check the elders for ticks. And no complaining!" She dug her claws into my tail, drawing blood. I nodded and headed towards the elders den.

I poked my head inside, looking around. "Stormblaze? Blacktail? Rainfur? Are you in here?" I whispered, waiting for a response. I spotted one of the shadows moving, but it wasn't a shadow, it was Rainfur. He looked up at me, his scraggly black fur making him look like a raven.

"Er, yes? Who is it?" His voice wavered slightly as he sat up. I took this as an invitation to come in.

"It's Tigerpaw, Foxleaf told me to check you for ticks." I sat down, watching him. I noticed that there was another shape near him, it's black and white fur gave it away as Blacktail.

"Oh, really then?" A new voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw Stormblaze standing behind me. "You'll have to tell her that Meadowpaw checked ealier." I nodded and stood up to leave. Stormblaze surprised me, giving me a comforting lick on the ear. "You shouldn't be punished for what happened to Brightflame, it wasn't your fault."

I looked up at her, feeling like a tiny kit listening to her stories. "I know, but I can't help but feel guilty" I muttered, looking at my paws. She gave me a nudge and I walked out of the den, looking around to see where Foxleaf was. I spotted her eating near Dapplestep and Russetpaw. I walked over to her and sat down.

She looked up at me and hissed quietly so that only I could hear. "What now? I thought I told you to get rid of the elders ticks!" She sat up so she was looking down at me. She stared down at me menacingly

I gulped and looked her in the eye. "Stormblaze said Meadowpaw already checked them for ticks, so I didn't need to." I said calmly. Funny how I'm not remotely scared of three huge rouges, but I'm terrified by my mentor when she's angry.

She gritted her teeth and looked away from me. I wondered if she was going to explode with fury. "Very well..." She said with what I assumed to forced calm. "But you will join me for dawn patrol and you may not have anything to eat until sunhigh tomorrow." I opened my mouth in protest but then closed it. Remembering that it was foolish to argue with Foxleaf, I simply nodded and walked to the apprentices den.

* * *

Curling up in my nest, I gave my tail a few licks to clean off the dried blood. Hearing pawsteps near the entrance, I looked up. Rustpaw and Willowpaw were walking in with their group. _Great... I wonder what they've come to torment me about this time?_ I thought to myself. I saw Snowypaw walking with them, but he quickly broke off from the group and walked over to stand in front of me.

"I'm not going to let you do that to her! It's cruel and unfair!" He cried out. I wondered what he was talking about, but I couldn't dwell on it for too long. Russetpaw walked forward from the crowd, which struck me odd. She normally went out of her way to avoid us.

Nightpaw bounded over and stood next to Snowypaw. "He's right! You can't do that to another cat!" She protested, once again sparking my interest.

Russetpaw smirked and step forward, looking Nightpaw in the eye. "That's not your decision to make Nightpaw, step aside now." She said softly. There was no kindness in her words. She swiped her claws at Nightpaws ear, drawing blood and leaving a deep scratch. Snowypaw hissed and launched himself at Russetpaw. They were a hissing, screeching ball of claws and fur until someone stepped in.

"That's enough!" A voice sounded from the entrance of the apprentice den and I looked up. Mintstripe looked at them with narrowed eyes, Adderpaw, the medicine cat apprentice, sat next to him with the same expression. Snowypaw separated himself from Russetpaw. Hissing at her, he climbed into his nest and glared at everyone else.

Russetpaw glared at him in return then looked at her mentor. I tuned out their conversation and looked at Snowypaw. He seemed upset, his white fur missing a clump on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" I surprised myself for asking such a ridiculous question when he clearly was. He looked up from his sulking and sighed.

"I don't know... Are you?" His question surprised me a bit more. I nodded, he smiled. "Then I'm just fine" He responded, shifting so his paws were tucked underneath him.

I watched him for a few moments before asking the question I had been wondering for a while. "What were they trying to do?" He looked at me again, his eyes narrowed. I silently hoped I asked something he was willing to answer. He looked over at Mintstripe and Russetpaw, I did as well. They had gone outside, but I could hear a bit of what they were saying.

"I can't believe you would attempt to make someone do something like that Russetpaw! That was-"

"I don't care! She's the reason Brightflame is dead!"

I glanced at Snowypaw, then at Nightpaw. They obviously weren't going to tell me what was going on. Rustpaw and Willowpaw were talking to Cherrypaw and Largepaw. With a start I realized Rustpaw was in Brightflame's old nest, next to Russetpaw's. Meadowpaw was on the far side of the den, by herself. Looking at Snowypaw again, I got up and walked over to her, sitting down. "You okay?"

She jumped and looked at me with surprise, her gaze hardening. "Why do you care?" She hissed, gazing at me with hostility. After a few minutes she looked away, eyes closing with exhaustion. "I-I just... I never really understood why Brightflame cared for you so much. And now I realise it was because you didn't have anyone... I feel bad for teasing you now."

I looked at her in disbelief. Then, surprising myself, I pressed my muzzle against her ear to comfort her. "It's not your fault, I guess." I let out a small _mrrow _of laughter. "I've already forgiven you..." Remembering something funny, my eyes brightened. "Do you remember earlier when Hollyfur was announced as Cherrypaw's mentor?"

She grinned, cheering up considerably "Of course! The look on her face... Priceless!"

We talked for a bit, then I went back to my nest. I felt happier then I had this morning, but it probably wouldn't last long. Feeling a bit drowsy, I closed my eyes and drifted into what I hoped was a dreamless sleep.

_I walked through the forest, alone. Feeling older, stronger, sadder... I looked up at Silverpelt through a gap in the trees. A voice sounded from my mouth even though I didn't speak myself. "Why have you caused this? Why does the prophecy need this to happen?" Feeling confused, I tried to move, but I couldn't. Suddenly I smelt a familiar scent, a comforting scent... At this I finally turned around. There stood a handsome white tom, he was strikingly familiar._

_He walked over to me and pressed his muzzle against mine, looking me in the eye. "StarClan can't have all the answers, sometimes we have to make our own." I felt my mouth curl up into a smile. My eyes looked back to the warriors of StarClan._

_"That was actually pretty wise, For you." I looked back to him, and my smile faded. "Where are we going to go? There is no home for us in RockClan."_

_I heard a muttering that slowly got louder and louder._

_"Tigerpaw... Tigerpaw!"_

* * *

"Tigerpaw, wake up!"

I jerked awake. Looking around, I saw Snowypaw walking out of the den, Foxleaf standing in front of me. _What's going on? Oh, right... Dawn patrol. _I thought as I climbed out of my nest. I heard Foxleaf mutter something about lazy apprentices as she followed behind me. It was quiet outside, hardly anyone was up. Dapplestep was still sitting vigil next to Brightflame. I walked towards him a few steps, but was stopped when Foxleaf stepped on my tail again.

"We're going on dawn patrol, not paying respects. If you wanted to do that, you should have stayed awake!" She hissed in my ear, dragging me a few mouselengths in the other direction. My stomach grumbled slightly in protest of not eating as I followed Foxleaf out of the camp. _Well, that's what you get when you don't do exactly what Foxleaf says. _I chided myself as we walked.

Foxleaf looked back at me and hissed softly, quickening her pace so she was up front with Greyfeather and Snowypaw. I walked alone in the rear for a few moments until Greyfeather glanced back and whispered something to Snowypaw. Snowypaw looked back at me and slowed down until we were walking next to each other.

I glanced over at him, he seemed calm, used to being up this early. I noticed him looking back at me and quickly looked away. My pelt suddenly felt very hot with embarrassment. _Great, he probably thinks I'm crazy now..._ I thought as I looked around. I heard Greyfeather talking to us and looked at her.

"We're patrolling the DarkClan border today, Whitestar wants to make sure they haven't been causing trouble." She meowed. I looked at Snowypaw in confusion. I'd heard a lot about DarkClan from Mintstripe. They were probably the most peaceful Clan in the forest, why would they cause trouble?

Snowypaw looked at me, seeing the confusion on my face, he launched into explaining. "Hawkstar said at the Gathering a few nights ago that her Clan didn't have enough food because of their smaller territory. She asked us to give them hunting rights in our territory until they had enough."

"I don't know why Whitestar is letting those filthy crowfood eaters hunt on our territory." Foxleaf meowed with distaste. "They'll just take advantage of our weakness and attack!" I narrowed my eyes at her prejudice-filled comment. DarkClan never caused any trouble, what reason do we have to hate them?

Greyfeather narrowed her eyes at Foxleaf dangerously. She seemed to constantly be furious with the red she-cat for reasons I still didn't know. "I'm not going to repeat this, Foxleaf, so you'd better listen." Greyfeather hissed lowly. "DarkClan are not looking for a fight, they barely have enough food to sustain them. If you make another comment about them being evil, I will personally turn you into crowfood yourself." I blinked at her in surprise. Greyfeather never made threats like that.

I felt Snowypaw nudge me and looked at him. He had stopped next to a clump of ferns and was sniffing it curiously. I opened my mouth to drink in the scent and was hit with a face full of DarkClan scent. I peered into the ferns and saw a little scrap with white fur. It was a kit!

"Hey Greyfeather, there's a kit here!" I called out, looking at the poor thing. She was practically skin and bones! She crawled away from me a little. Greyfeather walked over to me to look at the kit. Her expression seemed to soften and she picked the kit up and pulled her out of the ferns. Greyfeather always was a big softie with kits.

Greyfeather set her down and looked at her carefully. "What's your name?" She asked. This kit looked barely old enough to go out of the nursery, what was she doing here?

"I-Icekit" The little she-kit mewled softly. She was obviously terrified of us. I walked away from the rest of the patrol to have a sniff around the area. There was quite a lot of DarkClan scent around, and something else too... It smelled quite a bit like the nursery, but with DarkClan scent underlying it all.

"Tigerpaw! We're going back to camp!" I heard Snowypaw call to me. I looked up and saw him lingering behind while Greyfeather and Foxleaf walked back in the direction of camp. Icekit was dangling from Greyfeather's jaws. _Huh, I guess she's coming back with us._ I thought as I walked over to Snowypaw and we followed behind the two warriors.

I'd have to figure out the DarkClan scent back there some other time, I was hungry.


	6. Gathering

**Hey guys! This chapter takes place almost a moon later, at Tigerpaw's first gathering. Hope you enjoy, and as always, Read & Review!**

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_Chapter 4: Gathering (Tigerpaw's POV)_

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It was now nearly a moon after Brightflame's death, and I still hadn't moved on. Foxleaf knew that, and took pleasure in reminding me that it was my fault. I went on dawn patrol a lot, but only because Greyfeather and Finchflight asked. They must have thought that keeping me busy with tasks around the territory would keep my mind off of Brightflame. So I was often hunting to restock the freshkill pile, taking care of the elders, or doing border patrol. It worked too, so I never complained.

Foxleaf did though. She often told (complained to would be more appropriate) Finchflight that Greyfeather shouldn't be asking me to do stuff because she (Foxleaf) was my mentor, and Greyfeather wasn't. I think Finchflight just ignores her, because he asks me to do stuff too.

"Keep your eyes on your opponent Tigerpaw! Try that move I showed you on Rustpaw!"

Where am I right now? Battle training...

I flicked my ear at Foxleaf to tell her I heard her. I waited for my brother to come closer. When he was only a taillength away, I leapt up and onto his back. Gripping his underbelly with my unsheathed claws, I clung on while he tried to shake me off. He suddenly rolled onto his back and crushed me under him, making me let go of him.

I kicked up with my back legs, knocking him off of me. Getting back on my paws, I heard Finchflight meow for us to stop our training fight. I don't think Rustpaw heard his mentor. He leapt at me, knocking me over and pinning me down on my back. While I was caught off guard by his sudden attack, I knew this was a chance to prove myself to Foxleaf.

I remembered something Greyfeather showed me from a few days ago when I was training with Snowypaw. Raking my claws over Rustpaw's stomach, I caught him off guard and was able to kick him off of me.

"Hey! No fair, she cheated! I don't know that move yet!" I heard Rustpaw whine as we both got up again. I looked over at where I heard his voice and saw him standing next to Finchflight

Finchflight batted my brother's ear with his paw, looking at him seriously. "It's not cheating if your opponent knows how to get out a situation with a move you haven't learned yet. There always will be cats who know different moves and techniques you don't, so don't whine about it." His eyes narrowed slightly "And I recall telling you two to stop your fight."

Rustpaw's ears flattened and he looked away. His eyes locked with mine and they narrowed at me dangerously. I glanced at Foxleaf, she looked... Proud. _Creepy... But I guess I impressed her with that move. I'll have to thank Greyfeather for showing me. _I thought to myself. I heard Finchflight clear his throat and looked back at him.

"Anyway, good job you two. You can head back to camp and grab a piece of freshkill." Rustpaw's expression brightened and he started running back to camp, Foxleaf following behind him. I started to walk with them, but Finchflight called me back.

I stopped and looked at him. "Yes Finchflight?" He walked over to me and sat down, looking me in the eye.

"Rustpaw's been asking me if I knew who his father was." I looked at him, feeling confused. "And although I don't know, I figured you should find out who he is, in case..." He trailed off. I waited for him to continue, which he did. "Claystorm said he knew, though he didn't tell me exactly who."

I nodded, feeling a little bit better knowing that was all. "Thanks Finchflight, I'll... I'll keep that in mind." I turned and started walking back to camp, eager to find out what Finchflight could have meant.

* * *

"Tigerpaw! Tigerpaw! Guess what?" I smiled to myself when I heard Icekit's tiny mew next to me. She didn't know which Clan she was from, so Whitestar decided to keep her here in RockClan until the next gathering. The little she-kit was almost two moons old, and as hyper as hyper could possibly be.

"What is it Icekit?" I glanced over at her, looking away from the mouse I was eating. She paused for a moment as if recalling her thoughts. My eyes gleamed with laughter for a moment at her predicament.

"Icekit? Where did you go?" I heard Darkheart meow from the nursery. Since there were no queens at the moment, Darkheart was taking care of her for the time being. Icekit also had to be weaned early, but I think she already was, since there was almost no change.

I nudged her over towards Darkheart. "You can tell me later, I think Darkheart wants to see you." I meowed to her gently. She nodded with a smile and bounded over to her foster mother.

I heard a small laugh behind me and looked around, spotting Snowypaw and Nightpaw sitting close by. "She's really your crush?" I heard Nightpaw ask Snowypaw, who was blushing furiously. I quickly finished what was left of my mouse and got up. As I walked closer to them, I heard more of their conversation.

"Yeah... Well... You like her brother." I heard Snowypaw meow in return.

"True... But still, why her?"

Snowypaw shrugged slightly, still blushing. _Who are they talking about?_ I wondered as I watched them from a small clearing in the bramble walls that surrounded the camp. I used to hide there a lot when Rustpaw's teasing got a bit too much. Only Snowypaw knew about my hiding spot. Speaking of which...

"You can come out Tigerpaw, I know you're listening." Without turning his back, Snowypaw had detected me in the brambles. I slowly crept out of my thorny fortress and walked over to them.

I sat down next to them, looking at Snowypaw curiously. "How did you know I was there?" I asked simply.

He glanced over at me, smirking a bit. "I saw you creep around from where you were eating. You do realize I could see you practically the whole time." My ears flattened a little bit. I also noticed Nightpaw smiling at the two of us weirdly.

"Soooo... Who were you guys talking about then?" Snowypaw's eyes widened. and, if it was possible, he blushed even more.

"Oh, well, uhhh..." He stuttered for a few minutes, Nightpaw's smile got wider as she looked at us. _Why is everyone doing the whole creepy-smile-looking-at-me thing today? It's freaking me out!_ I thought as they did these things.

Finally Nightpaw answered my question, although I wished she hadn't. "Oh, we were just discussing Snowypaw's little crush on-"

"-Cherrypaw!" Snowypaw mewed anxiously, his eyes flickering between me and Nightpaw. I felt disappointment and a little bit of jealousy bubble up inside of me. _Wait a second... How can I feel jealous over Snowypaw liking Cherrypaw? I mean, it's not like I have a crush on Snowypaw. He's just my friend... Right?_ I thought.

"Oh... Okay." I looked at him unsurely, feeling a bit miffed. I walked away towards the apprentices den, failing to notice the look of disappointment on Snowypaw's face as he watched me walk away.

* * *

"-Going to the gathering are; Mintstripe, Heathertail, Mouseleap, Stormblaze, Rainfur, Dapplestep, Nightpaw, Snowypaw, Rustpaw, and Tigerpaw" I heard Finchflight meow across the clearing. I was going to the gathering? Cool. I walked over to Snowypaw. I mewed a greeting to him. He ignored me. Even though the conversation we had with Nightpaw was a few days ago, he still seemed a bit awkward with me.

_Okay furball, I get that you have a crush on Cherrypaw. Now can we _please _go back to talking to each other now? _I wanted to say that to him, but decided to stay quiet, so I said it in my head. I walked with him out of camp, but after that he walked over to Nightpaw and I was left walking alone. Going to the gathering felt wrong in a way without Brightflame with us, she went a lot. I felt fur brush against me and looked up. No one was there...

_Strange... Where did that come from?_ I started thinking back to the dream I had a moon ago, it had been the last dream I've had for a long time. _Could StarClan be trying to talk to me through dreams?_ I thought, then shook my head with a sigh. _No, StarClan wouldn't want to talk to me of all cats. That's what the medicine cats do, not a runty, good for nothing apprentice._

I tripped over a twig and bumped into Adderpaw. "Sorry." I muttered and stood up. _She should be getting her full medicine cat name soon, maybe you could ask her about the dreams? _She looked down at me and smiled slightly.

"No, it's alright Tigerpaw." She frowned slightly, seeming distracted. She quickly walked away towards Goldpelt, leaving me behind. _Even Adderpaw doesn't like talking to me... Why am I going to the gathering if no one will notice me?_ I quietly walked among the crowd of my Clanmates. I heard Adderpaw talking to Goldpelt nearby, I wasn't trying to listen, but they were kinda loud.

"-Worried about her, do you think she-?" Adderpaw was interrupted by Goldpelt.

"No, don't worry them with it yet. We'll talk to Whitestar about when the Clan should know. But we'll keep it between us for now." Adderpaw nodded and glanced back at me. I smiled shyly at her then looked away, pretending to be interested in a bush rustling. I heard Whitestar meow something but didn't really pay attention as everyone kept walking.

I pushed through the ferns and gasped quietly at the many cats in the clearing. There were two cats on top of a large rock. A brown and black calico she-cat with a torn ear, and a brown and white tabby tom. _Those cats must be Hawkstar and Leafstar..._ I thought as I looked at them. The she-cat that I assumed to be Hawkstar smiled at me. When Whitestar leapt onto the rock she whispered something to him. He whispered something back and a flash of concern was in her eyes when she looked at me again.

Someone bumped into me and I fell over. "Sorry! I swear I wasn't looking where I was going!" I heard a voice above me say. I stood up and saw a handsome black tom with amber eyes in front of me. I looked away and muttered a "It's fine" to him. He smiled at me, obviously not bothered by my timid nature. "I'm Blackpaw, what's your name?"

"Tigerpaw..." I meowed softly, still not looking him in the eye. A ginger tom called over to him, sitting by some other apprentices. I could see a black and brown calico she-cat with a blue eye and an amber eye, and a tortoiseshell she-cat with him as well as Snowypaw and Rustpaw. I scented a bunch more cats, probably PondClan, coming towards Fourtrees.

"Want to sit with me?" I heard Blackpaw meow. I looked back at him and nodded.

"I might as well." I replied. "My friends are over there anyway, and I don't really want to sit alone." He smiled again and ran over to the other apprentices. I smiled slightly and followed him just in time to see a tawny tom with a torn ear and a ginger she-cat walk over to the group. I heard them exchange greetings before the tawny tom bounded over to the group of medicine cats at the other side of the clearing.

A silver tabby she-cat jumped onto the rock and mewed her greetings to the other leaders. I could hear the other apprentices talking, but didn't really pay attention. The brown and white tabby tom yowled for the other cats attention, though he was rather loud. "If it is alright with the three of you, I would like to speak first." I heard him say to the other leaders, who nodded.

He stepped forward and I could see he had a thick scar over his left eye. "TreeClan is doing well. A new litter of kits has been born to Cinderfoot, and we have made a new warrior; Gorsefang." Some cats called the name out while a ginger and white patched she-cat's ears flattened slightly in embarrassment. He stepped back, and the silver tabby stepped forward.

"PondClan is also well, one of our warriors, Mosspelt, has moved to the elders den. And one our apprentices, Tornpaw, is now a medicine cat apprentice." A few cats called out his name and I looked over to the group of medicine cats. I could see one cat, a ginger tom, glaring slightly at Tornpaw. _He must have been his mentor._ I thought as the silver tabby stepped back and nodded to Whitestar.

Whitestar stepped up to the front of the rock, and I wondered if he would mention Icekit. _No one's mentioned her at all so far... _"RockClan is well. DarkClan has been within the borders agreed upon a moon ago, so I see no reason to change them until they are able to find food in their own territory." I heard Blackpaw mutter something as I continued listening to Whitestar, but he said nothing more.

Hawkstar stepped forward and began to speak. "DarkClan is almost able to sustain ourselves, thank you Whitestar." She dipped her head to him, who nodded. "Also, two of our kits, Icekit and Brownkit have gone missing." I saw Leafstar narrow his eyes at the news. Whitestar shared a similar expression.

"We're hoping they are merely lost, but their mother, Tigerfur, is fearing the worst." She stepped back and looked at the other leaders. _So, now we know where she comes from at least. Are they wanting her back? Are they saying we should keep her?_ I looked up at the moon and saw it was still clear, even though a few clouds were in the sky as well.

I felt someone brush against me and looked at them. It was Snowypaw. "Lets go Tigerpaw, we're leaving." I looked to the clearing where we had come from and saw a bunch of RockClan cats were going through the bushes. I nodded and walked with him towards the others. I felt his tail brush against mine and looked at him.

"Snowypaw?" I meowed quietly to him

He looked at me and smiled softly "What? Do I have cooties still?" He replied in an amused meow. I shook my head and looked away. "I asked Greyfeather if I could postpone my warrior ceremony until you had yours." I heard him say and my ears pricked up.

"Why would you do that?" I wondered aloud. Snowypaw had always wanted to be a warrior, why would he wait until I was ready to become one?

He looked at me for a few minutes, as if searching for the right words. "Because... Because you're my best friend, Tigerpaw. I don't want you to be alone."


	7. Leafbare Hunting

**Hey guys! here's a new chapter for you guys! Please read the AN at the bottom of the chapter**

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_Chapter 5: Leafbare Hunting (Tigerpaw's POV)_

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I crouched low to the ground, keeping light on my paws as I snuck closer to the mouse. I watched it sniff the air and paused, flicking my ear slightly, I pounced on it while it was distracted. Snapping its neck, I licked my lips slightly at the plump mouse. It was a harsh leafbare so far, and there was little prey, and what there was left was scrawny, this fat mouse was a blessing.

Snow began to fall again as I walked back to camp. I had managed to find a vole as well as the mouse. I decided to give them to the elders. Foxleaf had sent me out to hunt, and told me not to come back until I had enough to feed a few cats. I walked into camp and looked around. I smiled slightly when I noticed Thistlespots giving a mouse to Sootpelt. She was expecting his kits and was pretty much confined to the nursery now, on order of Thistlespots and Greyfeather.

I walked into the elders den and saw Goldpelt near Rainfur's nest. Stormblaze noticed me from where I was standing and clambered out of her nest to walk over to me._ Her joints must be sore, but what's wrong with Rainfur? _I wondered as she came up to me and sat down. "Nightpaw already gave us some freshkill, but thank you for bringing some back. Why don't you put it in the freshkill pile?" I nodded and had one last glance at Rainfur before leaving the den.

I walked over to the freshkill pile and deposited my two pieces there. It was pretty small. _I'll have to ask Foxleaf or Finchflight if I can join a hunting patrol._ I thought as I walked towards the apprentices den. I had been on my paws all morning. I'd been on dawn patrol, and after that I had hunted for the rest of the morning. It was barely sunhigh and I was exhausted. I curled up in my nest and closed my eyes, hoping to get a few minutes of rest.

No such luck.

"Tigerpaw, get up lazy furball!" I heard Foxleaf meow loudly barely a second later as she prodded me with her paw. I cracked open one eye and looked up at her. She looked kinda mad. I stood up and followed her out of the apprentices den. The camp was covered with a thick coating of snow now, and I could see Icekit romping around in it. "Will you look at this?" I heard my mentor say and I looked at what she was looking at.

The freshkill pile was nearly gone, except for a scrawny shrew and a couple mice that wouldn't feed too many cats. Both the mouse and the vole I dropped in there had been taken. I looked back to my mentor. "It's just a shortage of prey Foxleaf, I'm not responsible for that happening." I meowed calmly, looking up at her. Even though I was 9 moons old, I was still pretty small.

She frowned slightly. "I know that." She meowed in response. "But I want you to go out and hunt for a while. Take another apprentice with you if you want. Then you can eat and take a break." She smiled a little and I nodded.

Walking away a bit, I had a quick glance around camp to see who I should take. I saw Willowpaw and Cherrypaw sharing tounges by the apprentices den. They were looking in my direction, and I had the feeling they were talking about me too. I looked the other way and saw Snowypaw talking to Nightpaw and realized they were talking about him. My eyes narrowed a bit at that thought.

I mean. He's my best friend, of course I'd feel a bit jealous if other she-cats were talking about him. Right? _That, plus he's the most handsome apprentice in the Clan, he's bound to have Cherrypaw's affections. Why on earth would I feel jealous over her liking him? It's not like I like him too, right? Right?_ I thought as I shook my head to try and clear it.

I walked over to the two of them and waited for a minute until the finished talking. Snowypaw looked over at me and smiled a bit. "Hey Tigerpaw, how are you?" He meowed in greeting. I saw Nightpaw walk away from us. I was about to open my mouth when I heard Whitestar yowl from the Highrock.

"Let all the cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" We looked at each other in confusion then walked over to the Highrock. I saw Russetpaw sitting in the front with Mintstripe. I shared a glance with Snowypaw. It was Russetpaw's warrior ceremony, Brightflame should have been there with her. I felt a wave of guilt as I watched.

"I, Whitestar, leader of RockClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Russetpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect the clan, even at the cost of your life?" I noticed there was a slight edge to his voice, but I ignored it.

Russetpaw nodded. "I do"

"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. Russetpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Russetflight. Starclan honors your perseverance and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RockClan." I felt fur brush against me and looked around, no one seemed to have touched me. I looked back to where members of the Clan were congratulating the newly named Russetflight.

Her eyes met mine, and I knew she had felt the same thing. What did this mean? I wanted to assume someone had merely brushed past me on their way to greet the new warrior. And I knew that was true, but some part of me knew that it was Brightflame, greeting her sister.

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"Nice pounce, Snowypaw! I didn't know anyone could get that close to their prey without being spotted!" I called as Snowypaw walked over to me with a mouse between his teeth. He buried it in the snow with a small _mrrow_ of laughter.

"That's because most cats don't have built-in snow camouflage, that's why I love this kind of weather!" I nudged him with my shoulder as we walked on, planning to pick up the prey we had already caught on our way back. _I'm glad we were assigned to go hunting together, just the two of us with no one to keep us from talking._ Okay, It wasn't exactly the _two_ of us. Rustpaw and Largepaw had gone the other way, so our 'patrol' group was split in half._  
_

Rustpaw, Largepaw, and I were being assessed on our hunting skills, Snowypaw tagged along because he wanted to do something instead of just lying around camp all day. So the four of us were out hunting in the snow. It was a couple days after Russetflight's warrior ceremony, and the snow had only gotten deeper. Unfortunately it caused an outbreak of whitecough in the camp.

Both Meadowpaw and Willowpaw had it, and it seemed like they were getting better. Finchflight had it too, and Rainfur. Rainfur's was the worst, and Goldpelt and Adderleaf feared it would turn into greencough. I didn't really know what was going on, but one thing was for sure; Rainfur probably wouldn't survive the winter.

"Whoa!" I heard Snowypaw say as a squirrel ran across our path, treading over my paws in the process. I caught it at the last moment and snapped its neck. I heard Snowypaw's small laugh and looked at him. He looked at the squirrel hanging in my jaws and said in a hushed meow. "May the half-starved squirrels leap into your paws, or simply run them over."

I narrowed my eyes a little at his antics. "Very funny, but we should head back before we run into the patrol." I looked around and saw that we were near the DarkClan border, and had a chance of being spotted by a patrol. He looked around and nodded. We started walking back towards the camp, picking up prey we had already caught as we went.

I heard a scuffling sound from behind a bush and flicked an ear towards it. "Hey Snowypaw, I think there's some prey behind that bush, I'm going to check it out. You keep walking and I'll catch up." I meowed quietly, he nodded and kept walking. I walked towards the bush I had heard the noise from and looked behind it. There was a large patch of brambles, but what I saw was unexpected...

Rustpaw and Largepaw were both eating a rather large squirrel that could have fed nearly half the Clan. I didn't know why they were doing that, once we all got back we were allowed to eat a piece of the prey we caught. And eating prey before we had hunted for the Clan was against the warrior code. "What are you two doing?" I asked in disbelief, the words had slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Rustpaw looked up from the freshkill and looked at me with suspicion. "Want some? We just found it here and there's plenty for all four of us. I know you want some." He said the last part in a mocking tone, eyeing the ribs that slightly stuck out through my thin pelt. It was true, I was pretty hungry, but I wouldn't follow them and eat before I got back. I noticed Rustpaw and Largepaw both had thick pelts, with no sign of the hunger the rest of the Clan had. _They must have been doing this for a long time._ I realized.

I shook my head and turned to leave. Rustpaw must have figured I was going to tell and pounced on me, pinning me down. I hissed and tried to break free from his grasp. His claws scratched against my front legs as the two of us wrestled in a hissing ball of fur. I raked my claws over his flank, and he let me go. I bounded away from where the two of them were, pausing when I was a fair distance away to smooth my ruffled pelt. I was missing a few tufts of fur from my pelt and hid it to make it less obvious.

I felt my ear sting a bit from a scratch and ran my paw over it a few times. I finished making myself look less like I'd just fought and more like I got caught in brambles. I ran off to try and catch up with Snowypaw. I spotted him and quickly walked over, feeling like I was being watched. I looked around and saw a pair of familiar amber eyes watching me from a bush and felt the fur on the back of my neck bristle. I forced it down and looked away.

"What happened to you? You look like you've traded pelts with Rainfur."

Snowypaw's voice made me jump slightly and I looked at him. He had a couple mice in his mouth and I realized I had left the squirrel behind when I saw Rustpaw and Largepaw. I flicked my ear in irritation and looked at him again. "I saw Rustpaw stuck in some brambles and he made me rescue him." I said through gritted my teeth slightly. "I must have left the squirrel there, but I'm sure he and Largepaw will grab it for us."_ Yeah, and claim it as theirs._ I thought._  
_

He nodded and kept walking, I followed him. I noticed that we were close to camp. I looked back and saw that the amber eyes had vanished. _Okay, what's going on? I'm kinda freaked out now. _I thought as I looked forward again. I noticed Snowypaw looking at me with concern and looked at him again. "Are you sure you're alright?" He meowed softly. "Maybe you should have Adderleaf look at that scratch on your ear."

"I'm _fine_!" I snapped at him, regretting it almost immediately. I was feeling fed up with all the drama in the clan as of late. My sister has gotten whitecough, my brother is breaking the warrior code and no one seemed to care (or they didn't know), and I'm just expected to carry on as if nothing was wrong! "I'm sure both she and Goldpelt are too busy with the cats with whitecough to care about a scratch anyway."

He narrowed his eyes and I looked away from him. We walked into camp and I noticed quite a few eyes were on us. I looked around and saw Goldpelt meow something quietly to Whitestar. He snapped something to her and went into the elders den. I followed him with my eyes as I walked to the freshkill pile and dropped a couple mice that Snowypaw let me carry into it. I felt someones eyes on me and looked around. I saw Snowypaw talking to Greyfeather who meowed something that made him lower his head.

"Tigerpaw, what happened to you?" I heard a familiar voice say and I looked around. Ravenheart was walking to me with a grief-stricken expression. She licked a patch of fur on my head down and I ducked my head in embarrassment.

"I'm fine Ravenheart, I got caught in a patch of brambles, that's all." I looked away from her, felling bad about lying to Ravenheart. "Did something happen that I missed?" I meowed curiously, glancing around at the cats in the camp. A few of them seemed sadder then normal. I felt Ravenheart's tail touch my shoulders as she walked to a private corner of the camp, I followed her.

We sat down and she just looked at me. I looked around for a minute before looking at her again. "Tigerpaw, Willowpaw has greencough." I heard Ravenheart meow.

"What?"

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**That's the end of the chapter! Now onto the AN I told you about.**

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